


Anywhere

by Marimimi14



Series: Andrew and Neil Family's Adventures [17]
Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Adopted Children, Family Bonding, Family Feels, Future Fic, Interviews, Kid Fic, M/M, Photo Shoots, Professional Exy (All For The Game), Professional Exy Player Andrew Minyard, Professional Exy Player Kevin Day, Professional Exy Player Neil Josten
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-11
Updated: 2020-04-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:15:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23598223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marimimi14/pseuds/Marimimi14
Summary: This week is a little chaotic for the Josten-Minyard household. Andrew has to deal with a phone call with Nicky. There's also a photoshoot and interview on Thursday. Let's say not everyone is having a good time this week.
Relationships: Katelyn/Aaron Minyard, Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard, Nicky Hemmick/Erik Klose
Series: Andrew and Neil Family's Adventures [17]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1654528
Comments: 16
Kudos: 144





	Anywhere

“Aww come on Andrew!” Was the first thing Neil heard when he entered the kitchen after his morning run.

He looked around with a puzzled expression, wondering who was there with Andrew. Juniper and Everest had already left for school. Then he spotted Andrew’s cellphone who was balanced on something on the counter next to the stove. Neil could see Nicky’s face on the screen. Andrew wasn’t even looking at his phone, he was busy with breakfast.

“What’s going on?” Neil asked when Andrew didn’t answer his cousin and Nicky was getting ready to argue.

Neil took a few steps to join Andrew and be in the reach for the camera.

“Oh. Hi Neil!” Nicky exclaimed with a wild wave of his hand.  
“Hi, Nicky.” Neil said. He picked up the cup of coffee that Andrew pushed in his direction.  
“Maybe you can help me.” Nicky said with a hopeful smile.

Neil looked at Andrew over his shoulder and the blond shook his head, not saying a thing.

“With what?” Neil asked when he realized Andrew wouldn’t tell him what was going on.  
“Erik and I have a two weeks vacation coming up. We were thinking about visiting you guys. Aaron and Katelyn too obviously. I was asking Andrew if we could spend a few days at your house.” Nicky explained.

Neil raised an eyebrow at that. Sure, Andrew wasn’t the biggest fan of having people in his space, but he did live with Nicky for a long time, even before they went to college. Neil didn’t know what to say. Yes, Nicky was family. It didn’t mean he wanted him and Erik in their house for a couple of days.

“I told you we don’t have the place anymore.” Andrew finally said. “We don’t have spare rooms since Juniper and Everest got here.”

Neil nodded at that. He hadn’t even thought about it, but it was a very valid reason.

“Couldn’t they sleep in the same room while we’re here?” Nicky asked.  
“No,” Andrew said firmly. “It’s their house, I won’t ask them to relocate for your convenience.”  
“But…” Nicky started.  
“Nicky.” Neil interrupted him. “We didn’t say you couldn’t come to visit. You can’t stay at our house, but if you rent a hotel room you can still come over for diner or something.”

Nicky stayed silent for a few seconds (it was never more than a few seconds with him).

“Ok. We could do that. And we can go out for diner. I’ll call Aaron. He and Katelyn could join us.” Nicky said a smile back on his lips.  
“Joy.” Andrew said with a flat voice.

Before Nicky could start on a rant again Neil told him a quick goodbye and told him to send them the details for next weekend when they’ll be in town. And with that, he hung up the phone. The image of Nicky vanishing before the later could add anything else.

Andrew kept his attention on the eggs in the pan. It looked to Neil like he used more force than necessary to scramble them. Neil shook his head and went to take a shower while Andrew finished breakfast. When he came back with sweatpants on and an old hoodie, the food was ready and he made himself a plate, sitting next to the blond goalkeeper at the island. Andrew didn’t say a thing and continued to glare at his phone. Neil knew it was a text from Nicky. He had received one similar a few minutes ago. Telling them when they’ll be in town and how he already had a reservation for Saturday.

“Are you in this mood because of Nicky or because of the photoshoot we have on Thursday?” Neil asked as he took a bite of his toast.

At this point, maybe it was both. The newspaper wanted a few photos of the team for the sports section. Andrew wasn’t happy with it. Especially since their coach told them about the informal interview that went with it. At least, it was the sports section. They should ask questions about the team and exy. At least, Neil hoped so.

“Shut up.” Andrew said as he took a bite of his eggs.

Neil glanced at him and saw that he was now reading an email from their coach. Ok, it was definitely the photoshoot.

“No one is expecting you to even say a word.” Neil said, thinking back at the few bets that went around on the Foxes group chat when they learned about the interview.  
“Good. Because I’m planning on not moving my mouth at all. No speaking and definitely no smile.” Andrew said.

Neil hummed at that. Andrew wasn’t someone who was known for his friendly expression. Neil could see that he smiled more at home now. But the rest of the world didn’t need to know that. Hell, Neil was pretty sure, as far as Andrew was concerned, the rest of the Foxes didn’t need to know that.

“I’m sure Juniper and Everest would be happy to see Nicky and Erik.” It had been a good two months since Christmas and with the two men living in another country, they hadn’t many chances to see them.  
“Good at least two persons will be happy to see them.” Andrew said.

And those were the last words he said all morning. Neil didn’t take it personally. It wasn’t a bad day, per se, Andrew was just annoyed. It was a lot of things out of his control at the same time.

By the time the kids came back home from school. Andrew was in a bit of a better mood. Juniper entered the house and almost ran to the kitchen where Neil and Andrew were starting on dinner. She came to a halt and almost slammed her hips on the corner of the counter. Everest was following her, his pace slower and less chaotic.

“Jun, we don’t run in the house for a reason. You’ll hurt yourself.” Andrew said as she caught the counter with a firm grip to keep her from falling down.  
“Sorry pop.” She said with a smile. “I’ll be more careful.”

Neil saw Andrew raised an eyebrow at that. They both knew that when Juniper was excited about something, she almost forgot everything else. So, it was bound to happen again.

“What’s going on?” Neil asked her.  
“I’d like to know too since you almost dragged me to the house as soon as I was out of the bus.” Everest grumbled as he let his backpack drop to the floor.

Juniper turned quickly to apologize to her brother, and she shoved her hands in her own backpack. She ruffled her thing around a little and finally took out a piece of paper with a little ah-ah.

Neil and Andrew looked at her waiting for an explanation. Everest seemed a little impatient. As if he was a little offended to be dragged back to the house for a piece of paper.

“I got 70%!” Juniper exclaimed as she almost slammed the paper on the kitchen counter.

Neil took a step to the counter and looked at what she was showing them. It was her last math exam. And she liked she said she had a big 70% in red on it and a note from Mr. Kim telling her to keep up the good work. Neil looked up at Juniper with a smile. Even Andrew’s lips tugged upward a little. It had been a long road and Neil had helped her along the way, but they were glad she was so proud of her progress.

“Good job.” Andrew said as Juniper beamed at him.  
“Yeah. I’m proud of you.” Neil added and squeezed her shoulder gently.

Everest took a few steps and also look at her exam. He smiled at her and gave her a thumbs up.

“My grades are better than yours.” Juniper teased him.  
Everest rolled his eyes. “Only in math. I’m working on it.” He replied.

Then he took his backpack and retreated to his bedroom as Juniper followed him with a laugh. Neil smiled as he watched them disappear around the corner.

They finished preparing dinner and called Juniper and Everest back to the kitchen. They ate as the kids told them what they did at school today. Everest was rambling about what he learned about WWII. Juniper jumped in the conversation as soon as he was done to explain something about her English assignment. Then Andrew told them about Nicky visiting this weekend and how they were going out to eat Saturday evening. As expected, Juniper was the most excited at the perspective. Not that Everest didn’t like his Uncles, but he was a teenager who was entering the phase where he thought that most adults were lame, and he would prefer to hang out with his friends. 

“What friends?” Juniper asked with an innocent expression. “You just spend a lot of time talking to Gabby.” She added with a smirk.  
“Shut up Jun. I don’t just speak to her. Toby and Harley are in the chat too.” Everest grumbled looking down at his plate his ears bright red.

Neil had no idea where the Everest and Gabby was. Everest hadn’t mentioned anything else to them. He doubted they were dating, but Juniper was right. Everest did spend a lot of time speaking to Gabby. On the phone, texting, even sometimes FaceTime. As if they didn’t see each other all day long at school. But it wasn’t like it kept him from his other activities so Andrew and Neil let him be.

“Juniper stop teasing your brother.” Andrew intervened before Juniper could reply something and the situation would degenerate.

Juniper huffed. They all knew that teasing her brother was one of her favourite things to do. She took her role as an annoying younger sibling at heart. She sent Everest one last smirk before changing the subject.

***

As expected, Andrew had been tensed as soon as he woke up on Thursday morning. Juniper gave him a hug before she left for school and she wished both her parents good luck. Andrew would never say it out loud, at least not now, but that helped. Everest also wished them a good day before following his sister out the door.

Neil and Andrew finished getting ready and they took Andrew’s Maserati to get to work. And yeah Andrew wasn’t happy with their day at the studio, but neither was Neil. It was a waste of a good practice day in his mind. They arrived around the same time as everybody else on the team. Their coach asked them to listen to him as they sat in chairs for hair and makeup. That was another thing that Neil disliked about the whole photoshoot/interview thing.

“Why are you so tensed coach? It’s an informal interview.” Their captain asked the coach as their coach was pacing in the room they were in.  
“Yeah, I know.” He said shoving his hands in his pockets. “But some of you are stressful when I think about them saying stuff to the press.”

Neil rolled his eyes at the comment. It was clearly directed at him. He caught Andrew’s eyes and the goalkeeper shrugged. He wasn’t about to try and defend him. Andrew wasn’t a liar.

“I promise I won’t say anything too bad.” Neil tried to reassure his coach.

The coach stopped pacing for a moment and gave Neil an unimpressed stare. It wasn’t the first time Neil said he wouldn’t say anything too bad. Each time he had said it, he had ended up saying something bad.

“Wait until the announcement I’ll make before making any promises.” His coach said with a sigh.

Neil’s eyebrows frowned at that. He caught Andrew raising an eyebrow also. What could the coach mean? In fact, the whole team was looking at their coach with expectations now. The coach shook his head and took a deep breath.

“As you know since Gemma’s injury we’re missing a starting striker.” The coach started.

Gemma had been checked against the wall pretty badly and she messed up her knee in the process. Neil could still see the scene if he closed his eyes. They learned from her doctor last week that she wouldn’t be able to finish the season. In fact, she probably couldn’t play anymore. Which was one of Neil’s worst nightmare. So, as shitty as Gemma injury was, he was still grateful it wasn’t him.

“Yeah, we know. It’s a lot since we’re at the beginning of the winter season and all.” The vice-captain said. “And I mean poor Gemma it must hurt a lot.”  
“It’s not ideal. But after a few calls with the upper ups, I managed to get ourselves someone else.” The coach said.

Now the team was all ears. They thought they would have to make do with their subs until the next season. Which wasn’t ideal since none of them had the right skills just yet.

“Who is it?” Neil finally asked when everyone else was silent.

The rest of the team was probably too anxious to ask the question and Neil was well aware that Andrew didn’t care enough to speak up. The coach looked at him for a second. As if he was debating telling Neil or not.

“We got Kevin Day.” The coach finally let out.

The team let out a collective confused cheer. Like don’t get them wrong, Kevin is an amazing striker. And they all saw tapes of the Foxes’ games and knew Neil and he played well together. But Kevin had been with the New York team for a few years and they all thought he would stay there until the end of his career.

Neil groaned at that. Of course, they got Kevin. He was already bracing himself for his friend’s endless critiques. Neil looked at Andrew to try and see if the blond was already aware of the new addition to their team. Andrew raised an eyebrow at him and shook his head. Great, Kevin had kept the two of them in the dark.

“No. I have no idea why he was looking at a new team.” His coach said answering someone else’s question. “You can ask him yourself next week, he’ll be here on Monday for practice.”

They all realized why their coach had insisted on this interview. It was the moment they would announce to the public that Kevin was signing with them.

As the rest of the team gradually made their way to the studio Neil stayed behind a little longer. Andrew stayed with him, his partner in no hurry to be in front of a camera.

“So, we’ll be playing with Kevin again.” Neil said with a sigh.  
“Hum… Now there’s no way I’m answering any of their questions.” Andrew said as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

Neil smiled at him. There was already not a big chance of him speaking today. With the announcement of Kevin, Andrew was certain to keep his mouth shut. He had no intention of answering questions about their past and how he felt about being on the same team as Kevin again.

“At least Everest will be stoked with the news.” Neil said.  
“That’s because he’s as bad as you when it comes to this stupid sport.” Andrew said squinting at Neil.  
“Imagine if Matt joined our team.” Neil laughed.  
“Don’t jinx us Josten.” Andrew said as he left the room.

Neil followed behind him still laughing at Andrew’s reaction. The photoshoot went mostly well. They took team pictures and Individual pictures. Neil almost laughed at loud at the photograph’s reaction when he asked Andrew to smile a little and Andrew simply glared at him until the man dropped it. Then the journalists asked them a few questions about the season and how they felt about playing with The Kevin Day. Neil gave them short answers and Andrew kept his mouth shut. All in all, it went better than expected at the beginning of the day.

When they got back home, they went to the bathroom to take a shower and get rid of all the makeup. Yes, they took it together. It was more efficient, and it saved water (also they had the house for themselves for a good thirty minutes before the kids came back from school). Doing anything in the shower meant they could wash up in a matter of seconds.

Once out of the shower, Neil was tempted to call Kevin. Then he decided against it. It was in a good mood for now and talking to Kevin would probably get him in a less good mood. He’ll call him later tonight.

The kids came back from school with a loud hello. Neil and Andrew were in the living room. Neil with his phone in his hand debating if he should text Kevin or not. Andrew with a book in hands and very clearly ignoring Neil’s leg that was bouncing with nervous energy.

“How was the interview?” Everest asked when he and Juniper entered the living room.

Andrew snorted and shook his head. He still closed his book so he could concentrate on the conversation. Neil groaned at Everest’s question. He put his phone in his pocket and rubbed a hand on his face.

“That bad?” Everest asked with a smirk.  
“I’m sure you’ll both look great,” Juniper said with a smile. “I’ll make sure to show the newspaper to all my friends.”  
“Thanks, Jun. But there’s no need for that.” Neil told her with a tired smile.  
“Why not? Everyone needs to know that I have the coolest dads in the world.” She replied seriously.

Neil felt a little less tired at her words. She wasn’t just trying to cheer them up. She genuinely believed what she had said. She was still young enough to think that her parents were cool. Everest, on the other hand, rolled his eyes with a smile. Neil knew he was proud of them. But it was against his cool fifteen years old image to say anything out loud.

“What was the big deal?” Everest asked. He was slouched against the doorframe between the living room and the hallway.  
“We had to announce Gemma replacement.” Andrew said.

Everest straightened at that and took a step in the room. Juniper was also listening closely. But for her, it was for another reason. She hadn’t seen what happened, but her fathers had explained it to her, and she still shuddered at the image in her head.

“Who is it?” Everest asked with impatience when Andrew and Neil kept silent for a second too long.  
Neil sighed. “Kevin.” He said shortly.

Everest’s eyes went wide. He opened his mouth to say something, but it was like he couldn’t find the right words and he closed it again. After a moment a simply murmured a “Wow”. He also had seen old games of his fathers. He also watched all of Kevin’s games. This new line-up would be something.

“Does that mean that Uncle Kevin is moving around here?” Juniper asked.

She had an excited smile on her face. She was always excited at the idea of seeing any of the Foxes. And since they all lived a bit away it was hard for her to see them often.

“We don’t know yet.” Andrew said.  
“How could you not know,” Juniper said with a frown. “You didn’t call him?” She asked.

Neil shook his head. No, they hadn’t contacted him yet. At the same time, Kevin was the one coming to their team. He hadn’t called them either. 

“What? Do it then. He could come to dinner with us this Saturday.” Juniper said.

Neil stared at her for a second in stunned silence. Was his daughter more of an adult than him in this situation?

“How about you call him then,” Andrew said after a moment of silence.

Neil smirked at that. Imagining Kevin on the phone with an excited Juniper was already funny. He could almost the look on Kevin’s face. They hadn’t talked one on one very often in the past. Juniper nodded solemnly and extended her hand to Andrew. Andrew’s lips tugged at the corners as he gave her his phone. She took it in her hands and started to make her way to her room.

“Where are you going?” Neil asked her amused.  
“You didn’t want to call him. You don’t have the right to listen to our conversation.” He heard Juniper said from down the hall.

And with that, they heard her bedroom door closing.

“Wanna bet how long Kevin will be able to handle the call?” Neil asked looking at Andrew and Everest.

Andrew sighed and shook his head. He picked up his book again and shot Neil a look. Neil knew Andrew’s eyes were calling you an idiot.

“I’m pretty sure a fifteen years old isn’t supposed to bet.” Everest said with a smile. “On that note, I have homework.”

Everest picked up his backpack and left for his bedroom. Ok, maybe having Kevin around a little more wouldn’t be that bad in the end. At least, off the court that is.

**Author's Note:**

> So... Kevin will play with Andrew and Neil again! The next one should be the diner with Aaron, Nicky, Katelyn and Erik. Maybe Kevin too if Juniper managed to convince him to come in the end haha. As always, thanks for reading!


End file.
